Let me say right off the bat that these small meatballs in gravy, which is the way they're made and served in Sweden, are nothing special, even though they're called mouthwatering on the menu; however, they come with a side of lingonberry jam, and that's a game changer. The tart lingonberry jam is the perfect foil for the savory meatballs, and it also went well with the wine I'd chosen: Timbre 2009 Rose from the Central Coast of California. It was dry in a nice way, refreshing, and it had a beautiful salmon color. The meatballs at this wine and tapas place were served in a cast iron skillet placed on a wooden board. For the price, I could hardly believe that I got sixteen meatballs, but they were small enough so I could eat them all. I'm pretty sure now that the addition of lingonberry jam is what makes these meatballs Swedish.
Location: V Wine Lounge, 600 E Tahquitz Canyon Way, Palm Springs, California. Date: October 2, 2021.
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These are fresh cannellonis, not the ones that have been fried crispy for use in dessert, and they were stuffed with spinach and mozzarella and ricotta cheeses. The two filled pasta rolls were smothered in a white cream sauce and topped with fresh tomato sauce and garnished with chopped parsley and sprinkled with grated parmesan at the table. The tomato sauce was a little tart and sweet, and it played well with the cream sauce. The chopped spinach was nicely flavored with the two cheeses, and they also made the spinach seem a little creamy. All that was missing was black pepper, but they had that on the table. I enjoyed my pasta lunch with a glass of torrontes white wine. Torrontes is a grape grown predominantly in Argentina. It was dry, clean, and crisp but with a little interesting fruitiness. This time I actually tasted grape rather than a hint of peach or whatever. I had my meal and wine outdoors at an Argentinian restaurant in San Diego's Little Italy. Since a majority of Argentines are of Italian heritage, they are well versed in Italian cuisine. My meal today had the colors of the Italian flag (red, white, and green), and I've come across numerous interpretations of this theme in many differed Italian restaurants.
Location: Puerto La Boca, 2060 India Street, San Diego, California. Date: July 15, 2021. This pie consists of Coachella lime juice custard and house-made graham cracker crust. When I asked the bartender to recommend a cocktail to go with my dessert, she suggested white wine instead, so I decided on prosecco. The Riondo prosecco wasn't very bubbly, but it had a hint of lime flavor that paired well with the pie. The firm custard could have been more tart for my taste, but the strawberry and raspberry garnish added some, and actually the tartness built as I ate, leaving my mouth in a happy place when I'd finished. What a beautiful dessert from a local desert ingredient!
Location: Eight4Nine, 849 N Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, California. Date: July 3, 2021. This dish consisted of six grilled oysters on the half shell, three with miso shallot butter and three with seaweed butter. They each sat atop a piece of grilled sourdough house bread. I wasn't sure whether to shoot the buttered oysters and use the bread afterwards as a foil, or whether to pour the contents of the half shell onto the bread and eat it that way. I took the first option, and it was just delicious. The seaweed butter ones were good, but the miso shallot ones were the bomb. My friend and I enjoyed these, along with a dozen raw oysters that were really fresh, with a bottle of California rosé wine that was nicely dry with some fruit both in the nose and in the taste; I'd say strawberry and peach, but in a slightly under ripe way. It was Hogwash from Oakville, 2019. Rosé wine is popular in France with oysters which is why my friend, who has lived in France, recommended it.
Location: Redlands Oyster Cult, 16 E State Street, Redlands, California. Date: June 26, 2021. This licorice flavored biscotti is made here in the desert by an Italian who has long ties to Italy; he claims that his family recipe dates from 1592 in Calabria. This biscotti has a crunchy exterior, but it's softer inside than those made commercially today. The owner told me that the biscotti are best dipped into the Italian dessert wine known as vin santo, but since he doesn't sell that wine by the glass, he let me know that dipping it into a red wine was the next best thing. I ordered two biscotti and he poured me a glass of Italian merlot for dipping. I enjoyed my dessert outdoors under the olive tree. The biscotti has some crunch and flavor from slivered almonds, an intense rich anise flavor, and it's not very sweet, which is one of the things I really like about it. When dipped into red wine, it takes on some acidity that really makes it shine.
Location: Frankie's Italian Bakery, 68-845 Perez Road, H30, Cathedral City, California. Date: June 12, 2021. This was my first day of wine tasting since the pandemic shut it down in California, and I came across a really good one near Ramona in North San Diego County. I tasted at Edwards Vineyard which is known for their Syrahs. The own-rooted Syrah is made from a blend of grapes from French and Australian clones that are planted to grow their own roots rather than being grafted onto phylloxera-resistant rootstock like most vines are. Many winemakers believe that grapes grown on their own rootstock will be more intense and flavorful. I tried the Syrah that the winemaker liked best and the slightly more expensive one that his wife liked best, and I had to go with the winemaker himself. His tasting notes call this a dark ruby red wine with a nose of oak, red berry, mineral, and spice. The taste is smooth and rich with bright boysenberry fruit, dark chocolate and oak, with a lingering finish with soft tannins and a snap of acid. I agree with all of this, but my tasting note, when I actually opened and drank the bottle I procured, a couple of days later, was simply “a cascade of blackberry”. I took the picture from my outdoor table (indoor tasting is not allowed yet).
Location: Edwards Vineyard & Cellars, 26502 Highway 78, Ramona, California. Date: May 29, 2021. This hidden Italian gem of a bakery and restaurant offers both hot and cold sandwiches, so I went with the simple cold turkey with Havarti cheese in order to let their freshly baked Calabrese bread shine. The sandwich was dressed with lettuce, tomato, and mustard, though unfortunately I didn't discover the tomato until after I took the photo and started eating the sandwich. The deli style turkey was thinly sliced, the thicker cut Havarti provided saltiness and creaminess, and the crisp lettuce and the tomato slices provided freshness. The bread was crusty but not to the point that it would damage the roof of your mouth. The inside of the bread was chewy, with a dense texture, but it was soft. The bread was noteworthy, and it was the star of the sandwich. I enjoyed my to go lunch with a plastic cup of Terramia chianti which the owner said was very good, and it was (and it was very inexpensive). It was quite dark and berry flavorful. I enjoyed my lunch outdoors at a table under an olive tree.
Location: Frankie's Italian Bakery, 68845 Perez Road, H30, Cathedral City, California. Date: May 22, 2021. This French pastry was advertised as mixed red berries and champagne; what it really consisted of was a layer of cream mousse that had champagne in it, making it really light, with a layer of green pistachio cake underneath, with a layer of tart raspberry compote under that, and then another layer of pistachio cake. The pistachio cake was dense, and that contrasted with the light mousse and the juicy raspberry filling. The top of the pastry was garnished with two fresh raspberries, two fresh blackberries, and two dark chocolate lace tuiles. This pastry was not too sweet, and with a glass of French sparkling wine (Pol Clément Brut), it was lovely on a warm afternoon outdoors.
Location: French Corner Cafe, 72423 Hwy 111, Palm Desert, California. Date: November 21, 2020. I procured these items while traveling in the southern part of New Mexico, and I presented them as a tasting at a friend's home in Palm Springs. In the background, from left to right, we start with Tighty Whitey, a 2017 pinot grigio from Noisy Water Winery in Ruidoso. There was citrus in the nose, and my tasting notes said honey with a touch of spice. Next is Lescombes Cabernet Sauvignon, 2016, from Deming. It's a full bodied wine, fruity but dry, with some oak or a touch of smoke; it's luxurious. Finally, there's Dry Point Distillers Monsoon Gin from Las Cruces, which is floral and definitely juniper berry forward. In the front, from left to right, we have Green Chile Pecan Brittle from Las Cruces Candy Company. This was the mild one, but it certainly had some spice. There seemed to be more sweet and spice than nut, but the nut was definitely there. Next is Heart of the Desert Garlic & Green Chile Pistachios from Eagle Ranch in Alamogordo. You taste both the garlic and the green chile; they're spicy and delicious. Lastly are the Green Chile Pecans from New Mexico Pecan Company in Las Cruces. These fresh roasted nuts contain jalapeño, instead of New Mexico green chile, for their bite. Overall, it was a superb tasting of New Mexico produce in artisan form.
Location: Private Home, Palm Springs, California. Date: January 20, 2020. This interesting lunch of mine consisted of three local products: tucumcari mountain feta cheese with local lavender infused honey paired with a Lescombes rosé. I'm not sure that the honey actually infused the feta, but it was certainly drizzled over. The soft rich feta was a little grainy and a bit too salty for my taste; however, that's probably what made it good with the honey. It was garnished with fresh strawberry quarters (could have been a local product too) and served with pita bread that helped cut the richness. My Heritage Rosé had a note of strawberry that paired it very nicely to the dish. At Lescombes, which is actually a winery, all food is meant to be paired with wine. In 2017, the Heritage Rosé won a silver medal at a rosé wine competition in France; it was the only medal awarded to an American winery. When I started eating, I thought the dish would be too rich to actually finish, but it got addictive as I ate, and I ended up eating it all.
Location: Lescombes, 1720 Avenida de Mesilla, Las Cruces, New Mexico. Date: January 16, 2020. |
AuthorChef Roland has been a legal resident of seven countries and has travelled in over thirty, documenting food along the way. He currently resides in the desert in Southern California. Categories
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